Eating Habits Put

Singles at Risk

Recipes

We have copied and pasted all 13 of the Eating Solo recipes from the AICR on another page. Since the Dietary Exchanges are not available in the AICR brocuhure, we have added them as a courtesy for our readers.

Click on the link below for the recipes:

Eating Solo Recipes

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     "Families of one also deserve a delicious and healthy meal," says Melanie Polk, RD. "With a little bit of planning ahead, singles can prepare meals for themselves that are nourishing and satisfying at the same time."

     Nearly 26 percent of Americans-73 million people-live alone. Whether single, widowed or divorced, many of these people eat an excessive number of their major meals at commercial eateries or assemble them at home from prepared foods.

     According to a U.S. Department of Energy study, more than 42 percent of all singles do not cook even one meal per day at home. Figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate that singles spend 47 percent of their food dollar on food prepared away from home as opposed to 42 percent for households of two or more and 37 percent for households of five or more.

     "The more meals you prepare yourself, the more opportunities you have to introduce healthful basics like vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans. These foods help you manage your weight and offer protection against chronic diseases like cancer, heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes," Polk says.

     The prospect of maintaining a kitchen for one, cooking alone and dining alone seems to drive many singles to eat out, take out, or order out. Unfortunately, commercially prepared meals often have too many calories, too much fat, too much sodium and too few vegetables and fruits for maintenance of a healthy weight and protection against chronic disease.

     For this reason, experts at AICR recommend that singles develop strategies that will allow them to take meal preparation into their own hands more often. Preparing a greater percentage of meals from healthful ingredients at home means greater control over long-term health and body weight.

Cooking Solo Offers Strategies for Healthy Eating

     "In fact it’s not hard for most singles to prepare healthy meals regularly for themselves. You need to have a few staples on hand and a few standard recipes for soups, casseroles and easy stir fries. Cook two recipes on Sunday, store individual servings in the refrigerator or freezer, and you’ll have something delicious to warm up all week when you get home from work," Polk says.

     To assist singles in meal preparation, AICR has published a new brochure entitled Cooking Solo: Homemade for Health. It explains how to organize shopping, storing and preparing food for the single household. It offers tips for fitting cooking and healthy meals into a busy contemporary life.

     Cooking Solo lists the basics: simple kitchen tools, smart grocery shopping tips, safe food storage and healthful cooking methods. It tells how to choose frozen dinners that have the most nutrition and how to supplement them with vegetables and whole grains.

     The new brochure also explains what makes a meal healthy. For good health and lower cancer risk, AICR advises filling two-thirds or more of your plate with vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans, and limiting meat and dairy products to one-third or less of your meal.

     This kind of predominantly plant-based diet can provide plenty of protective substances, called phytochemicals, that studies link with lower cancer risk. If Americans ate the recommended 5 or more daily servings of vegetables and fruits, researchers estimate that the incidence of cancer would drop by 20 percent.

     Cooking Solo contains 13 easy and delicious recipes, including White Bean Soup with Rotini, Sweet Potatoes with Cranberries and Pecans, Artichoke Salad with Baby Greens, Layered Enchilada Casserole, Pineapple Chicken Stir-Fry and Skillet Apple-Cranberry Granola Crisp. Many of these dishes can be frozen in individual portions for later meals.